News

Property duo nets 21.7m in sale of Edinburghs ugliest building

BELFAST-BASED KFC franchise owner Michael Herbert and his property business partner Pat McCormack should net £15m (€21.7m) from carrying out a quick sale of the St James Centre in Edinburgh, writes Joe Brennan.

The duo, who bought the building last December through Donegall Place Investments, agreed to sell what is dubbed Edinburgh’s ugliest building for £184m to Henderson Global Investors. Henderson is understood to have been an underbidder in last year’s sale, which was handled by Jones Lang LaSalle.

It had been speculated at the time of the original sale that Herbert and McCormack would fork out up to €150m redeveloping the eyesore, which consists of a 147-bedroom hotel, offices, about 50 retail units and three car parks.

“You get two types of investors in property: those that buy to hold and those that are open to making a quick profit. These guys definitely fit into the second category,” one